Hedonism is the philosophy that associates anything good with pleasure and anything bad with pain. Hedonists try to live their lives disassociating with any kind of pain because they believe that only pleasure should be present in people’s lives in order for them to be fulfilling their life. Epicurus’ theory is similar to this idea of hedonism, but it is not as severe and it is considered to be a more moderate view of it. The founder of this theory, Epicurus believed that pleasure was associated with the greatest goods, but he did not agree with the fact that it was only based off of bodily gratification but a sense of calmness instead. To achieve this he believe all you needed was a simple life with good friends and intelligent, philosophical discussions. Epictetus began his teachings of the Stoic doctrine in Rome, but later moved on to Epirus. While he resided here, many people began to listen and follow his teachings and way of life. One in particular, Flavius Arrianus, was taken under his wing and began to record Epictetus’ teachings. He later published his works into a handbook widely known now as the Enchiridion. The main topic discussed within these works and that Epictetus lived by on a daily basis was how to fully achieve happiness. The work discusses subjects such …show more content…
Pojman wrote an essay called “Religion Gives Meaning to Life” in 2002. In this essay, Pojman argues the idea that there is no meaning to life without religion residing within that individual’s life. In the text, he focuses heavily on a theistic religion, but although his focus remains on theism, Pojman does admit to the fact that we do not know if theism is particularly true. Whether it be theism or another form of religion, he believes that holding on to some sort of religious principle gives us as individuals a purpose to life and basic principles of morality to live by. Pojman believes that living in a world of theism is much better than living in a world in which no God
“Religion Gives Meaning to Life” outlines how life is given meaning through theistic religion in Louis Pojman’s opinion. In this short reading, autonomy is described as in the meaning of freedom or self-governing and argues how it is necessary for ideal existence. By being honest and faithful with ourselves shows how we can increase our autonomy. “I think most of us would be willing to give up a few autonotoms for an enormous increase in happiness” (553) shows our willingness to practice good purpose.
The theory of hedonism is the view that pleasure is the only thing that is intrinsically valuable, thus making it so that our lives are only truly good to the extent that we are happy. The Argument from False Happiness challenges the view of the hedonist: the hedonist believes that a life is good so long as there is happiness, regardless of where the happiness comes from, whereas critics of hedonism argue that a life filled with false beliefs is worse, despite the fact that the person may still be as equally happy as someone with true beliefs. In this essay, I will show how hedonism is drastically discredited by the following argument as it is clear to see how false happiness makes a life significantly worse for the person living it: If hedonism
Hedonism is a way of life that is rooted in a person’s experiences or states of consciousness that can be pleasant or unpleasant. The ethical egoist would state that a person should maximize his or her pleasant states of consciousness in order to lead the best life. Act Utilitarian on the other hand would state that these enjoyable states of consciousness should be maximized by one’s actions for everyone in order to attain the most utility. On the surface, this appears to be a good way to live, however, as Nozick states through his example of the experience machine that living life as a hedonist can be detrimental. It is a hollow existence that will ultimately be unsatisfactory because of the lack of making real decisions and relationships which are important to living a fulfilling life.
With their philosophical roots grounded in ancient Greece, Stoicism and Epicureanism had contrary yet significant impacts on Roman society. These two philosophies differed in many of their basic theories. Stoics attempted to reach a moral level where they had freedom from passion, while Epicureans strove for pleasure and avoided all types of pain. Stoics like the Epicureans, emphasized ethics as the main field of knowledge, but they also developed theories of logic and natural science to support their ethical doctrines.
Secondly, PoJman believed that the universe is full of goodness and because of that, good will conquer over evil. He said this because, through religion we learn that we as humans can willingly choose to be on God’s side. Therefore, by so doing, we can be sure that we will be able to beat evil .In other words,
Religion is an organized collection of beliefs and cultural systems that entail the worship of a supernatural and metaphysical being. “Religion just like other belief systems, when held onto so much, can stop one from making significant progress in life”. Together with religion come traditions that provide the people with ways to tackle life’s complexities. A subscription to the school of thought of great scholars
Erich Fromm in his psychoanalytical approach to religion is distinct from the earlier works of Sigmund Freud. Fromm defines religion as “any system of thought and action shared by a group which gives the individual a frame of orientation and an object of devotion.” Fromm argues that irreligious systems including all the different kinds of idealism and “private” religions deserve being defined as a “religion.” Based on Fromm’s theory, it is explained that there is no human being who does not have a “religious need,” almost every part of human life reflects religious need and its fulfillment, in fact he states it to be “inherent” in man.
Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher, is one of the most influential ancient thinkers. Epictetus believed the purpose of moral philosophy was to help show people the way to lead better lives. He believed that some things in this world are un-controllable and some things are controllable; some things are up to us and some things are not up to us. Epictetus believed our opinions, impulses, desires, aversions, or whatever is our own doing is up to us; however, our bodies, our possessions, our reputations, or whatever is not our own doing, is not up to us. He also believed that we should not try and control the world, but accept it and make the best out of every situation. Epictetus’ aim was to live well, to secure happiness and to offer different solutions as to how life was to be lived. I will attempt to summarize some of Epictetus’ disciplines in a way that will give a simple view on how one should live their life; and also try to interpret his views into modern day living so that through their application ones life will become simplified and therefore enhanced.
Epictetus was a philosopher that was born in 50 C.E.and died in 130 C.E., Epictetus was famous for his strong belief in self discipline. Unlike fellow philosopher Epicurus Epictetus does not believe that matter is the most important thing in the universe and that people should try to fulfill their pleasures. Epictetus believes that the most important thing in the universe is God. He believes that people should live their entire lives understanding where they stand in the cosmic universe. As stated in the book Great Traditions In Ethics Epictetus believes “That we are first to learn that there is a god; and that his providence directs the whole” (Denise, White, &
Aristotle’s account of a morally virtuous life is opposed to Epictetus’ Stoic approach. I do not think a defender of Epictetus could respond adequately to Aristotle’s criticisms. In this paper I will argue that Stoic beliefs contradict themselves. The Stoic approach to the good life according to Epictetus consists of focusing on what you can control and accepting the things you can’t.
Chris Heathwood, Epicurus, and John Stuart Mill all have their own visions of what “the good life” is and what it consists of. Chris Heathwood has the idea that “getting what you want” is the key to the good life, but Epicurus and John Stuart Mill both have hedonistic views about life. Though fairly similar, there are several differences between these two views. First of all, Epicurus believes that pleasure is the “starting point” of every decision we make. These “pleasures” we are seeking, whether it be money, love, or even something that is considered pleasurable by everyone, like the ability to see color or to eat sweets.
Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that pleasure is the primary or most important intrinsic good. The Hedonistic theory states that obtaining pleasure and avoiding pain are the only elements that drive human behavior. Hedonistic theories often receive a lot of criticism because it identifies pleasure and pain as the only important elements of driving human motivation and behavior, rather than pleasure and pain as merely two important elements (Weijers para 1). One well-known objection to the hedonistic theory is the swine objection. Although some objections can be made to the swine objection, the swine objection is an effective describing how receiving the most pleasure is not always makes one the most fulfilled in life.
When talking about pleasure there needs to be a distinction between the quality and the quantity. While having many different kinds of pleasures can be considered a good thing, one is more likely to favor quality over quantity. With this distinction in mind, one is more able to quantify their pleasures as higher or lesser pleasures by ascertaining the quality of them. This facilitates the ability to achieve the fundamental moral value that is happiness. In his book Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill offers a defining of utility as pleasure or the absence of pain in addition to the Utility Principle, where “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (Mill 7). Through this principle, Mill emphasizes that it is not enough to show that happiness is an end in itself. Mill’s hedonistic view is one in support of the claim that every human action is motivated by or ought to be motivated by the pursuit of pleasure.
But since we are rational beings we should try to pursue pleasure as rationally and as intelligently as possible. Epicurus said that, for each of our actions, we should first consider the pleasures it would give us and the pains it would lead to and then measure the net outcome. For example some activities like drinking alcohol in excess amount lead to short term boost in pleasure but ultimately lead to great pains in the form of sick bodies, hangovers and broken relationships. Epicureanism also argues that we should limit our desires to what is necessary and easy to